


Signal Lost

by LadyRachael



Category: Original Work
Genre: Bards, Fae & Fairies, Gen, Magical Realism, Music is a crime, Revolution, Urban Fantasy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-08
Updated: 2020-09-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:13:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26365504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyRachael/pseuds/LadyRachael
Summary: An account of the Before, and the beginning of the Songbird War.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 2





	Signal Lost

-Signal Lost-

"There was no real warning when they came. One moment, life as usual; the next, leviathans rose in the seas, skyscrapers toppled, planes made emergency landings, and all manner of vehicles swerved to avoid sudden trees that reached for them as they grew across the roads. Some died, some hid, and the very unfortunate changed. 

Some people said that the Earth had finally had enough of humans and brought out her champions in an effort to survive. It's possible, the pollution was swallowed up by the leviathans in the ocean, sprites in the air, gnomes in the earth. Some of those were human originally, changed when they tried to harm any of the fae, others just appeared. We've all seen this video, it still makes me shudder.  
(Screen pans back to a slightly shaky camera video. The video is silent, but the person holding the camera pans across their friends, laughing and rough housing until one points up. The crowd starts to notice and the camera pans across the gathered people, staring in wonder at the flitting air sprites until someone threw a bottle. They all turned like a flock of birds on a cornfield, dazzling the camera with bright wings and ivory teeth until the flock lifted again, greater than before, over the scattered scraps and abandoned belongings. The picture turned sideways as the camera tumbled down and winked out.)

The only class of humans spared entirely were children. If there was a parent nearby, those adults were spared based on how the child felt about them in that instant. This was not a kindness. I was fortunate enough that my mother survived, others were not so lucky. What child never said "I hate you" in a moment of anger? 

After that, we were cowed for a while and the Fae solidified their positions. Some cities were eaten by the trees, grass reclaimed the asphalt and the only litter left was of leaves. Bare handfuls of humans stayed in their arbors. Others spun themselves into spires of glass stone, like an illustration of Elven cities from Tolkien. Darker still were the gothic keeps of those Fae less accepting of humans. We soon learned what those spiked gates were for.

When the Rebellion began, they started to take our Names. In the Before, everyone signed their birth name on absolutely everything remotely legal. The Fae took every advantage of that fact. You could be minding your business, just walking or shopping, and one would say your Name and you were caught. Once in a while, somebody would return, having lost whatever time they spent Underhill. Usually they just stayed there, lost to dreaming like the lotus eaters. Now, of course, we have our use-names that we know each other by.

Listen carefully, our pointy-eared overlords do have weaknesses. Everyone knows about how susceptible they are to music, why the bard guilds were formed so we wouldn't be killed for so much as humming. I know you think you're safe, being uninteresting, but it won't work for long. They're talking about collaring us like dogs. That's not how they're presenting them, of course. My patron, when I'm Magpie, seems to think I should be honored to wear this 'mark of his favor.' I don't know why he named himself Ariel, he looks nothing like a mermaid.

But there's a fatal weakness as well, iron. Specifically, cold forged iron. I know that any iron at all is hard to find now, but I can tell you how to make a weapon to protect yourself. That's why this is live. I cut myself off from any mention of my name, but I know they'll be looking now since I mentioned iron. I should be safe enough as long as no one says my birth name. Okay, first, gather your iron together." 

Outside the closed door, a voice called "Wendy Marie Devon! Get your butt out of your room and answer the damn door! They've been banging on it for five minutes!" 

The masked and hooded woman had the time to breathe "Oh shit," before the room filled with glittering light and winged bodies, finally fading into static. The words -Signal Lost- appeared in black on the white of the image hanging in the air.

~•●•~

Maestro Azure tapped his wand against the lectern. "Settle down, class. This recording and the arrest of Wendy Devon, known as Magpie, marked the beginning of what was first known as the Human-Fae War, later known as the Songbird War for the terrorist bards that headed most of the battles." 

There was a sussurus of wings as some of the older Fae flinched at the mention. The lecture hall was a riot of color and race, tiny air sprites next to undines in their tanks, gnomes seated on the counters next to dryads with their saplings, the occasional human scattered throughout. One of the humans touched the silver band on his neck, caressing one of the gems. "Why did they fight? The torque protects our Names and lets everyone know how good a bard we are."

The Maestro nodded, "A good question. I want a presentation on the Songbird War from each mixed group, and I will penalize anyone who so much as whistles without being cleared for music. You all know the rules, anything more complicated than a child-song needs a bard rank of tourmaline or higher. Class dismissed, younglings!"

A red drake flew down to perch on the lectern, "Really, Maestro? You had her call you Ariel?" The drake gave him a skeptical look.

Maestro Azure, once called Ariel and many other things at different times, laughed and settled his wings. "It's not my fault they stopped reading the old tales. Shakespeare tried to warn them the last time we came, made a whole play about us and everything. Pity about Magpie, though, she was fun while it lasted. You remember, I was sad for a decade after we had to crush her. Oh well, time marches on, even for us. You up for an ale?"

The door swished closed, leaving the words floating in the dark, until they, too, faded away.


End file.
